


All I Can Do is Keep My Eyes on You

by Ithinkwehaveanemergency



Series: You're What I Want... [3]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Derek Hale Deserves Nice Things, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Future Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-10
Updated: 2019-04-10
Packaged: 2020-01-11 01:15:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18419789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ithinkwehaveanemergency/pseuds/Ithinkwehaveanemergency
Summary: Derek and Liam have moved in together, and are hosting a dinner for Derek to officially meet Liam's parents as his boyfriend.Liam has a minor freak out and Derek isn't impressed.Several months after the events of "You're What I Want and Thats All", but you don't necessarily need to read that fic first.





	All I Can Do is Keep My Eyes on You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tabbytabbytabby](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tabbytabbytabby/gifts).



> So. Tabby prompted "cooking together" and this happened.
> 
> Named for a Sara Barielles song.

Derek whistles a tune as he plucks the colander off the overhang above his kitchen island.  He hears Liam’s beat up Bronco pulling into the garage as he places the colander in the sink and sets the large pot of water to boil.

 

The door opens and then slams shut with near-splintering force.  Derek whips around in confusion to stare at the stairs that lead from the first floor to the kitchen and living room.  Liam walks in looking a bit red in the face.

 

“There weren't any baguettes.”  The angry young werewolf huffs out and places the groceries on the kitchen island.  “I specifically wanted a baguette to bake mini garlic breads with, but  **_no._ **  All they had was these stupid loaves of sourdough and I didn't have time to go somewhere else.”

 

“That's okay.”  Derek steps toward the bags and grabs the fresh loaf of sourdough, setting it on the cutting board.  “This one smells good. It's not too strong, it'll be perfect.”

 

“ _ Nooo _ ,” Liam stubbornly draws the word out as he walks to the fridge to start putting away groceries,  “Perfect would have been  _ French _ bread.  And now the entire dinner menu is messed up because I can't even find the right bread.”

 

“Babe, it's fine.”  Derek frowns and grabs the bell peppers from Liam’s hands before he can put them away too forcefully and bruise them.  He places the bright red vegetables on the cutting board gently. He walks back to Liam, shutting the fridge and taking the 24-year-old’s shoulders in his hands, forcing him to stop his harsh, angry movements.

 

The rage emanating from Liam doesn't ebb.  Instead, he stares up at Derek with eyes the color of fire.

 

“It's  _ not  _ fine!”  Liam practically barks at him, then tries to calm himself down with deep breathe between statements.  “You're  _ meeting my parents.  _  Everything has to be perfect!”

 

“But your parents know me already.”  Derek squints like it's a question, confusion settling across his features.

 

“Not as my boyfriend, they don't!”  Liam argues. He swats Derek's hands away and returns to unpacking the last few groceries from their wolf-covered, hand-embroidered tote bags.  (A housewarming gift sent to them from a pregnant and bored Lydia, the day Liam moved in with Derek.) Liam sighs as he opens the fridge. “They just know you as the creepy, quiet dude that-turns-into-a-literal-wolf who helped the pack  _ not die _ a few times when I was like... seventeen and is  _ eight years older than me _ .”

 

Derek leans his hip against the island and crosses his arms.

 

“You never told me you felt like your parents wouldn't approve of our relationship.”  Derek grumbles as he watches Liam aggressively put away assorted cheeses and Derek's favorite nitrate-free bacon into the deli drawer.

 

Liam slams the deli drawer a bit too hard and turns to his boyfriend.  He growls at the taller man, then takes a step back, putting the reusable shopping totes in one of the hanging baskets next to the fridge.

 

“That's not what I meant, and you know it.”  Liam comes back to the island and mirrors Derek's position and expression.

 

Derek's eyes narrow further at the sassy action.  He pushes away from the counter and walks back to the cutting board next to the sink.  Liam stares at his back impatiently, but Derek simply starts chopping the vegetables.

 

“Come on, Derek.”  Liam’s anger melts into frustration.  He walks up behind his boyfriend and presses his cheek into Derek's shoulder blade, his hands resting lightly on Derek's hips.  “I seriously didn't mean that. I'm just really nervous.”

 

“Nervous your parents won't like your old,  _ creepy _ boyfriend.”  Derek mutters, finishing the bell peppers and moving on to the sprigs of basil he has laid on on the counter.  Before Liam can protest, he speaks up again, louder this time. “The water is boiling. Can you grab the bowties?”

 

Liam obeys with a pout, and they continue moving about the kitchen, preparing their carefully planned meal with a heavy tension in the air.

 

It lessens with every passing minute, but Liam’s heart remains clenched in his chest at how silent and focused Derek is on cooking instead of his usual upbeat demeanor in the kitchen.

 

Making dinner together is something they started before they even officially started dating.

 

Derek told him once, after the fourth or fifth time that they made dinner together due to being famished after an athletic couple hours in bed (or on the couch), that making dinner together was always a family tradition in his house while growing up.  His whole giant family, would participate in preparing the meal, splitting all the jobs up so that they could all feel proud of what they'd made together.

 

When Derek told him that, Liam immediately knew he was completely gone for the man he was supposed to just be having fun, casual sex with.  And it took over a year from then to get to this point, where they actually are dating and living together, but each time they make dinner, it's full of stories and jokes and sweet kisses that don't happen anywhere but their kitchen, where they always feel like a little family, just the two of them.

 

And they're always proud of what they make, whether it's peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, or filet mignon medallions in mushroom cream sauce, or even a burnt quesadilla that ends up more like cardboard than food because Liam would press Derek against the fridge and cover his torso with love bites.

 

Liam’s face falls.

 

He realizes he's taken that from them just because he's irrationally nervous about a stupid dinner that doesn't even matter because he knows his parents will love Derek because he makes Liam happy and they already know that without having to come observe their life together, in their home.

 

He takes a deep breath and puts the garlic bread in when he's done basting the slices, and he checks the pasta.  He grabs a single, slightly firm bowtie and holds it out for Derek who eats it straight from his fingertips.

 

“Perfect, babe.”  Derek offers him a grateful smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes and then goes back to sauteeing the bell peppers and basil.  Liam smiles back as much as he can muster up with the big empty ache in his chest and turns the burner off, bringing the pot to the colander in the sink.

 

When he brings the strained pasta to the big serving bowl that's been set out on the island, Derek is there, ready with the sauce and veggies to mix in.  Liam does the mixing as Derek takes out the garlic bread, which smells perfectly done.

 

Liam stops mixing and turns around to face the stove.

 

“Der, I'm sorry.  I was being stupid.  Everything is going to go great.  Because it's us. And its dinner. And it's family.  And everything is going to be perfect, even the  _ fucking _ garlic bread.”  Liam admits, spitting the words out rapidly, softly, trying to delicately give this meal back the only thing it ever needed in the first place.

 

Their love.

 

He watches Derek sigh and switch off the oven.  His boyfriend turns to him and Liam is shocked to see that Derek doesn't look nearly as composed as he'd been pretending.  In fact, he has tears in his eyes, and Liam starts to panic once more. His heart starts to race.

Derek immediately shakes his head, moving forward and taking Liam into his arms, surrounding him, comforting him, despite the fact that he seems to be the one who’s about to cry.

 

“It's okay that you're nervous, Liam.”  Derek mumbles into his hair and laughs, more in an effort to not cry than anything else.  “I was being stupid too.”

 

Derek pulls back and kisses Liam on the corner of the mouth quickly before staring into his eyes and smiling sadly.

 

“I've been so selfishly looking forward to this dinner and how great it would be to have your family here with us and get to finally share that part of your life a little bit, that it hurt to find out that you weren't as excited about it as I was, and that you were worried it would go badly.  I just…” Derek bites his lip and rubs his hands up and down Liam's arms. “I was so excited your family wanted to be here, in my home, in  _ our  _ home.  This is the kind of thing I always pictured having one day, back when I was really young.  Finding someone I love and starting a life with them so that we could host dinners, and share our food with all the other people we love?  It's just… I just wanted that. The food we make, it doesn't matter, as long as it's together.”

 

Liam is crying by the time Derek stops talking and he launches himself into the taller man's arms, mumbling into his shirt, “I love you.  You're right. I'm sorry. This is perfect. We're perfect. I love you.”

 

“I love you too, babe.”  Derek kisses Liam's hair.  “I’m so happy that you invited your parents here, and I should have told you how much it means to me.”

 

They hold each other for another minute until they hear the sound of Dr. Geyer’s BMW pulling up into street parking spot outside, below the balcony.

 

“Oh man.”  Liam laughs as they pull apart.  “I probably look like a wreck.”

 

“Nah, you're gorgeous.”  Derek wipes a couple stray tears streaks from his face and kisses him sweetly.  “I, on the other hand, just got cried on, so I should go change my shirt.”

 

Liam laughs even louder as Derek pulls back and grabs the bowl of pasta and a large serving spoon and puts them in the middle of the table.

 

“Plate the garlic bread and finish up.”  Derek tells Liam as he walks out of the kitchen and up the stairs to the third floor of the condo.  “I'll get the door after I throw a snot-free, dry shirt on.”

 

“Douchebag.”  Liam mutters to himself with a smile.  He hears Derek laugh in the bedroom above him before hurrying back down the stairs once again.  Derek jogs over to the kitchen table to kiss Liam on the cheek once before heading for the first floor to get the door.

 

Liam hears Derek greet his parents and exchange laughter filled pleasantries as they walk up to the middle level.

 

“Derek, this place is gorgeous.  Wow.” Jenna Geyer looks around in awe at the hardwood floors and plush rugs, covered by modest yet stylish furniture.  Her gaze makes it all the way to the kitchen and she smiles warmly at her son. “Hello, sweetheart. I've missed you!”

 

Jenna hugs her son tightly as Derek and Liam’s stepdad keep the conversation going.

 

“Seriously, Derek.”  Dr. Geyer nods in approval. Derek sets down the cake that Liam's parents brought for dessert, and leans against the kitchen island to face the man again. “Major luxury upgrade from that place you owned.  Smart choice, selling that monster of a building when you did. With all the gentrification, I bet you got a good price.”

 

“Oh yeah.”  Derek nods emphatically, shoving his hands in his pockets and looking around his apartment.  Liam stares at the two men like they've grown second heads as they continue to talk real estate.  “I put 60% down on this condo, and that wasn't even close to putting a dent in what I got from that sale.”

 

Dr. Geyer whistles and continues his perusal of the relatively brand new home.  Jenna walks away from Liam to go look out the balcony.

 

“That doesn't mean you should cut slack on Liam in helping you pay the mortgage.”  She hums as she slides open the screen and steps out, her husband following behind her.  “Don't let him get too comfortable reaping the benefits of all your savings.”

 

“Mom!”  Liam shouts in shock at Jenna, but she ignores him, talking to Dr. Geyer about the view and pointing at the mountains.  Liam turns to his boyfriend. Derek smiles at him innocently. “Okay look, I know I was being annoying, but you could have clarified that you actually like…  _ know _ know my parents.  Also, how the  _ fuck _ do you know my parents?!”

 

“He helped us fix up the house before we sold it.  You and most of your friends were off at college, so Theo and Derek helped us in exchange for some real estate guidance, because he was shopping for that cabin in Tahoe.  And in Theo’s case, we just gave him money and help with getting a real job.” Dr. Geyer cuts in with a chuckle as he and his wife come back in and shut the sliding door behind them.  “I thought you knew that.”

 

“No.”  Liam huffs.  He glares at Derek playfully.  “I did not know that. I mean, Theo, yeah.  But not Derek. Must've slipped his mind. He's getting old.  He forgets things.”

 

“Well, you wouldn't know it by looking at him, which I can't say about you.”  Jenna scoffs, walking up to Liam and grabbing his astonished face. “What is this thing on your face?  You look like one of those 30-something rich start-up hipsters from our neighborhood who think that just because they started a successful company, they can forgo basic grooming habits.”

 

“Jenna.”  Dr. Geyer scolds, biting back a laugh.

 

“I'm sorry, sweetie.”  Jenna apologizes honestly, hugging her son close again.  “You are a grown man. If you want to look like a hobo, you go ahead.”

 

“He usually shaves daily, actually.”  Derek laughs, moving to help finish Liam setting up the table, since he's been rendered useless with indignation.  “He just had a few days off in a row, so he deserves a break from that. I don't know how he does it. I would hate shaving daily.”

 

“Same.”  Dr. Geyer nods with a grimace.

 

“Men are weak.”  Jenna scoffs dramatically and then opens her oversized handbag to procure a bottle of Chardonnay.  “Shall we?”

 

Liam looks around the room, taking in his family, and his heart swells.

 

Derek looks up from where he's opening the wine for Jenna and meets Liam's eyes across the dining table as the Geyers each take a seat.

 

Derek mouths an “I love you” and Liam grins back, mouthing a cheeky, “Fuck you.”

 

Dinner is perfect.

  
  
  
  



End file.
